FileMaker Pro 10 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've used Filemaker since it's been black and white on a Mac Classic. From version to version it has always upgraded my files and performed flawlessly. At FM 6 I migrated over to Windows and the migration of my relational database was virtually flawless -just a little tweaking of layout and fonts.
It has always been very easy to use -I have built entire applications for my personal use and it's always trouble free and fast. It is crazy simple to customize.
I stopped at FM 6 for a while because FM 7 switched to a new database model, more in line with other databases like MySQL. Finally this year I switched to FM 10. I did need to redo my databases into tables and used it as an opportunity to clean out the unused stuff I'd added and then stopped using over 15 years -but I was surprised that it was way easier to migrate than I expected.
FM10 also has a nifty function where, as I update my FM records locally on my computer, it updates the MySQL database where my website is hosted. I enter new products and my website, running off MySQL and PHP is instantly updated!
FM is stable as all get out. My Macs didn't crash but of course my PCs do. When that happens FM will sometimes say it needs to "rebuild the database" -it has NEVER failed to do so. I have never lost data. Also, they don't release until it's right. Windows seems to be in perpetual Beta mode and you get to be the tester but through many upgrades, Filemaker is never half baked -new versions always run well and I'm not on tech support bringing up bugs they didn't catch.
Filemaker has a good deal of power for the power user, but FM has also been the database of choice for people who have no database experience. I started as a newbie many many years ago, found it easy to learn (once I understood the idea of a relational database) and I still love it! When a company does a good job of something I think it's very important to say so (cause usually I'm bitchin'.)

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FileMaker Pro is the world's leading easy-to-use database software that securely shares information with Windows and Mac users--through your network, over the web, and in popular formats such as PDF. Whether you need to manage client information, track project details, or produce inventory reports, FileMaker Pro 10 helps you get your important information organized in one place so it's instantly accessible.

Manage people, projects, assets, and more--the easy way!
Get started quickly With its award-winning ease of use, FileMaker Pro is simple to install and setup takes just minutes. Instantly add many types of information including lists, photos or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
Reporting made easy FileMaker Pro 10 comes complete with step-by-step reporting tools that help you make sense of all your data and automate those repetitive tasks. Use the Report Assistant to design custom layouts, labels and reports.
Share information in a couple of clicks Safely share FileMaker Pro 10 databases through a network or over the web, with both Windows and Mac users. Plus control what data you let other people see--right down to a specific field.
Sleek new look. Intuitive new design. The fresh new interface of FileMaker Pro puts commonly used features right at your fingertips. Based on feedback from our customers, the new Status Toolbar is redesigned to give you streamlined navigation, better workflow and timesaving shortcuts. You can even customize the toolbar by dragging and dropping the features you use the most. Now managing your information is more simple and straightforward than ever before.
More product enhancements The enhanced Quick Start Screen is a great way to start learning how to use FileMaker Pro with access to videos and technical resources. Easily create databases from existing sources like .CSV, Tab, and Excel. You can also now import your Bento data directly into FileMaker Pro through the Quick Start Screen or the File Menu.
20 things you can do faster and easier with FileMaker Pro 10:
Manage customer contact information
Archive photos, PDFs, documents and more
Automate and web-publish proposals for clients
Convert paper forms to electronic forms
Track billable time spent on projects
Manage business assets
Track employee, patient, or clientele records
Create a catalog of inventory and assets
Manage an employee directory
Collect meeting minutes and track issues
Route technical support calls and track statistics
Log and chart research and other findings
Automate requests to the help desk
Track requisitions and purchase orders
Develop a quoting, estimating, and invoicing system
Create a client contact log
Generate weekly status reports
Automatically create email/direct mail offers
Issue SQL queries to enterprise CRM system
Attract customers with a web-published catalog

Get results in minutes FileMaker Pro 10 comes with 30 ready-to-use Starter Solutions to help you get started fast. Simply open a solution and start adding information, or import your existing data from many popular formats. The FileMaker Resource Center helps novices and experts get up and running smoothly.

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Filemaker Pro 11 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am the Senior FileMaker Pro Developer at a major American university/medical school, where we have integrated FileMaker Pro and Oracle-based products to manage the vast amounts of clinical data collected for our cancer research center. We've recently started testing FileMaker Pro 11 in our environment, and have so far been very impressed with the new features and enhancements I've encountered.
Here are a few notable things I've encountered:
CHARTING
This long-overdue feature alone justifies the upgrade price! In the past, creating a simple chart in FileMaker Pro has been a complex process involving byzantine workarounds and/or expensive plug-ins or services. Now you can create dynamic charts which key off table data, found-set data, or related data. The new feature supports bar, line, area, and pie charts. I looking forward to seeing more chart types in future releases.
SUMMARIZED DATA ON TABLE LAYOUTS
This feature greatly increases the usability of the table view in FileMaker Pro, and reduces the need for my Excel-savvy users to export the data for further analysis.
RECURRING IMPORT
This feature creates a dynamic link between an existing Excel spreadsheet and a FileMaker Pro file. This is great in an environment like ours where many different data platforms (including Excel) must be supported. With this feature, I can allow an Excel spreadsheet to be the primary repository of a given chunk of data, but still use a FileMaker Pro solution for analysis and reporting. This gives us more flexibility to offer multi-platform solutions to complex workflows.
THE INSPECTOR
The old "Object Info" palette has been greatly extended as a full-blown "Inspector", where all aspects of an object such as position, text & data formatting, field behavior attributes, etc. can be managed. Multiple inspectors can be open, which makes creating layouts a lot more efficient.
ENHANCED OBJECT BADGES
"Object Badges" are visual hints which appear in layout mode which advise the developer about how that object is formatted. This feature has been implemented before with badges for tooltips and script triggers, but has now been extended to show fields with conditional formatting and indexing for the new "Quick Find" feature.
QUICK FIND
This new feature allows the user to search for a particular value across all fields in the layout at once. I don't know how many times I've created this feature in my own solutions, but it was always a hassle and never as elegant or fast as Quick Find. Now I can include this feature in every solution without any any additional effort.
ENHANCED CUSTOM MENU CREATION
A long-awaited re-write of the Custom Menu tool (in FileMaker Pro Advanced) makes the process a lot simpler and intuitive. Finally!
IN-CONTEXT OBJECT CREATION
I've discovered many places in the interface where I can instantly create new objects such as fields, scripts, etc. in the context of what I'm doing. For example, I can invoke a "create script" window directly from within the "Custom Menu" window if I wish to attach a script (which I hadn't previously defined) to a menu item. Another example is the ability to create a new field when defining a table layout without needing to invoke the "Manage Database" window. There are more examples of this "in-context" integration, but the net effect is that I spend less time invoking windows and more time focused on the task at hand. It's a small thing which makes a big difference to a developer.
COPY / PASTE / IMPORT CUSTOM FUNCTIONS
A huge time-saver for developers. Now I can simply keep all my custom functions in a reference file, and move only the ones I want into any given solution.
***
I'm still discovering all the new features of FileMaker Pro 11, but as a 20-year FileMaker Pro developer, I can tell you the upgrade price is more than justified - it's a no-brainer. For companies, institutions, and casual users who are considering FileMaker Pro as a new platform, there has never been a better time to jump on the bandwagon - you won't regret it!

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FileMaker Pro is powerful, easy-to-use database software that helps you and your team get any type of task done faster. Millions of people in business, government, and education use FileMaker Pro to effortlessly manage all their information on Windows, Mac, and the web.



Tackle Any Task on Windows, Mac, and the Web
Chart a whole new course for your data FileMaker Pro 11 comes with brand new features to help you create eye-catching reports, boost your productivity, and build better databases.
Create eye-catching reports with FileMaker Charts using bar, line, area, and pie charting styles. Make reports in a familiar spreadsheet-like format, or build customized reports with the improved Layout/Report Assistant. Set up Recurring Imports with your Excel or text files. Plus save your data as Snapshot Links to create personal reports or collaborate with other.
Boost your productivity every day with new tools to help you build and use your databases more easily including Quick Find, Inspector, Object Badges, improved Quick Start Screen, a new Invoice Starter Solution, and text highlighting.
Build better databases faster with new features for the more experienced developer such as Layout Folders, Portal Filtering, scripting enhancements, file security, and variables in find requests and merge fields.
Tackle any task Get over 30 professionally designed templates to help manage your tasks in minutes.
Create custom databases Build a database tailored for your unique needs. To get started just drag and drop Microsoft Excel data into FileMaker Pro.
Produce reports Get step-by-step reporting tools to help manage and automate tasks. Even easily create and email reports in Excel or PDF.
Share in a couple of clicks Safely share with both Windows and Mac users. Plus share your databases over a network with up to 9 other users.
Publish data to the web Securely publish your databases to the web in a few clicks. Create surveys, registration sites, customer feedback forms, and more.
Top new features in FileMaker Pro 11 Get more innovative features to help you create databases like never before:
New--FileMaker Charts Create eye-catching reports using bar, line, area, and pie charts.
New--Quick Reports Create reports in a spreadsheet-like format. Group and summarize data on the fly.
New--Recurring Import Automatically import Excel and text files every time you open your database.
New--Quick Find Search for information just as you would in a web browser.
New--Inspector Manage your layout tools all in one convenient place.
New--Layout Folders Organize layouts into folders with easy drag and drop.
Why FileMaker Pro?
Cross-platform--use on both Windows and Mac OS
Works with your Microsoft Excel files--just drag and drop
Built-in peer-to-peer sharing over a network
Easy web publishing in just a few clicks

Get results in minutes FileMaker Pro 11 comes with more than 30 ready-to-use Starter Solutions to help you get started fast. Simply open a solution and start adding information, or import your existing data from many popular formats.

Get 11% OFF

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